Something is BEEPING in my home!

[Anne2008]

It's been happening for the past 3 nights, from around 6:30pm until 10 ish...

It beeps every 30+ seconds, then stops for a while then starts again.

I have stood next to the water tank, electrical cupboard thing...but I can't tell where exactly it is coming from.

What should I do? Anyone know what it could be? fwiw this is an apartment but im pretty sure it's coming from mine not a neighbouring one.

Oh wait, could it be the fire alarm signaling it's battery is low? But wouldn't that beep constantly or something?

I know the water tank heats the water up overnight...so could it have something to do with that? Oh im lost!

[Fuamami]

Could it be my dh's cell phone? My ds2 lost it somewhere in the house, maybe it was a portal to your house

Seriously, though, I bet it's your smoke alarm. Ours do that too, to let us know the battery back up needs to be changed. It's infrequent, too, so it's hard to figure out which one it is.

[kewb]

Our smoke detectors beep like that when the battery needs to be changed.

[midnightwriter]

something with a battery dying? cell phone? sometimes they give out these bursts of beeping every couple of hours, to preserve the remaining battery power

[Asher]

When in doubt here, we look for a Tomagotchi with dying batteries. Learned that the hard way after thinking for hours that my stove was going to blow up (one of the kids dropped it below the stove).

Could it be one of the kids toys that they leave on during the night and/or that needs its batteries changed, but is not loud enough to hear with day time going ons?

[Teensy]

Also check for digital watches and clocks. We've even had kid's meal type toys with an alarm.

I would ask your neighbors too. Perhaps someone is on vacation or works nights and doesn't realize an alarm clock is going off.

[Anne2008]

Thanks I have found out what it is! It's the smoke alarm! It is flashing red on it everytime it beeps...and I got out the manual which says it beeps when the battery is low.

So what do I do? It tells me I need to replace it with a new battery and which one to get, but should I do this myself or get the landlord to do it? I have no idea how to change a fire alarm battery! What if I set the alarm off and it won't stop?? Im too scared to change it myself because of that.

[staceychev]

It's easy. Most take 9V batteries. You should be able to remove the alarm by turning it on its mounting plate. Switch out the battery. It'll go off momentarily, but it'll stop.

[jocelyndale]

It's really easy to check. If the cover doesn't just twist off, it might have a screw.

And there should be an expiration date inside somewhere. If it's expired, make sure your landlord replaces it.

[Anne2008]

All sorted, thanks ladies! The landlord got an electrician out to replace it. It is one that is connected to a mains supply, so changing the battery would have meant disconnecting it all anyway. The electrician said he would rather replace the whole thing, than worry about changing a battery for something so important.